The Dow Industrial average reached 10,000 with CNBC staff wearing caps that read 'DOW 10,000' and will run a "special" DOW 10,000 TV show this evening.

STOP THE INSANITYThe economy has not been saved, only disguised... akin to putting lipstick on ENRON years ago and calling it a great investment.

Banks and other financial institutions have only been able to report revenues because they no longer have to record 'actual' losses,as long as they don't sell it they can put whatever value on it they want. We have Congress and the FASB for that brilliant move.

...To Mr. Dimon... If you are wondering what is happening in the "real world" and if your losses will grow then just take a look at the growing 'tent cities' all around the country.Oh, maybe you already know about them because you have your people out their trying to milk a few more bucks from their "tent mortgage".

Don't worry, President Obama has everything under control and will quickly move to solve this problem:

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 3:49:13 PMWhite House: Pres Obama supports a $250 payment to seniors, veterans, and the disabled; program could cost up to $13B- payment may include approx 57M individuals

Wow! $250 bucks, that will go a long way in helping people hurt by the financial disaster. The Government estimates that 57 million individuals may qualify for the 250 buck payment. That is if they can find addresses for those who are now living in tents.

When individuals don't pay their bills for 3 months creditors will put the screws to you in any way they can. When state and local governments don't pay the bills for 3 months it just goes into a 'this is the new normal' and no punishment is given to the state and local governments. Besides, you can't fight City Hall as the old saying goes.

You do realize that one day the "full faith of the United States Government" will no longer mean anything when it comes to making good on its debt.-----

(CBS News) The State of Illinois' pile of unpaid bills has grown to a record-breaking $3 billion. Comptroller Dan Hynes said Tuesday it's never before been this bad at this point in any previous fiscal year. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports that some social service agencies that rely heavily on state reimbursement warn they will soon be forced out of business.

Hynes said that things are likely to get worse before the state's bleak revenue picture begins to improve.

The comptroller reported corporate income tax receipts down $77 million for July through September; sales tax receipts, down $244 million; personal income tax receipts, down $251 million.

One result: the typical creditor must now wait three months to be paid by the state, compared to a two-month wait at this time last year.

It's all very discouraging to the physician who runs Family Home Service.Dr. Norman James said he does not have enough cash to pay his 250 employees this Friday. He said he may have to close the doors, leaving more than 450 clients without the support they need to stay in their own homes and out of expensive nursing homes.

Dr. James said his bank had tripled the size of his line of credit, but that money is now all gone. Dr. James said Illinois owes his agency $900,000, about $700,000 of it past due by up to five months.

Evelyn Gonzalez, a Family Home Service supervisor, said she can't afford to miss a pay check.

"It's nerve-wracking. Because I have bills to pay just like everybody else," Gonzalez said.

A Chicago Meals on Wheels and nutrition center can't purchase food and is facing eviction," Hynes said. "A large Lake County disabled program can't make insurance or mortgage payments."Hynes said he's now getting 2,600 calls a week from creditors desperate to be paid by the state.

While the General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene next week in Springfield, no one's even pretending to offer a comprehensive solution to the unprecedented budget disaster. Democrats and Republicans, the governor and legislative leaders all insist that must wait until next year.

To say that Cairo, the seat of Alexander County, Ill., has seen better days is a cruel understatement. The county of 8,000 people is half-a-million dollars in the red, and the recession has made a bad situation worse.

Cairo's police department has just had most of its cruisers repossessed, reports CBS News National Correspondent Dean Reynolds. The recession has reduced tax revenues all over the country, forcing government agencies to cut their budgets. A survey of police departments found 66 percent of them were facing cuts this year.

"God willing, we're going to protect these people and we're gonna continue with what we got. We're used to struggling. We're used to struggling," said Sheriff David Barkett with a laugh.

The situation got so bad this month that the bank repossessed five of his seven cruisers. Four of them sit in the bank parking lot now, shorn of their emergency lights, antennas and seals. In addition to losing his cruisers, the sheriff lost three-fourths of his staff, most of them deputies,to budget cuts. At its peak, the staff had 29 full and part timers. Now there are five.

"I'd say it's very extreme when it effects the protection of lives and property," said Barkett. [...] (Source: CBS News) hat tip Butch